At global design firm HOK, project teams begin
by interviewing clients on their business goals for
the redesign, gathering feedback on what employees like and dislike about their current workspace
and what improvements would help create a more
productive environment. They also observe workers
to determine where social interaction, collaboration and group cohesion happens in the office. For
example, one tool allows project teams to place
hundreds of motion and heat sensors throughout
the workspace as part of an eight-week study that
gathers data on when locations are being used. This
helps HOK identify which areas are in most need
of redesign.

“We’re looking for indicators that highlight whereworkers are not frequently using spaces,” says LeeDaniels, EMEA regional leader of consulting, HOK,projects are designed to inspire. Yelp, for example,recently completed a US$20 million project to createan integrated office environment for its new head-quarters in New York, New York, USA. The designtakes its cue from the city itself, breaking depart-ments into distinct work neighborhoods connectedby color-coded “subway lines” that run along the floorto help employees navigate. Yelp also added an in-house coffee shop, a bar with craft beers and a gamingzone to give workers social spaces to blow off steam.This might seem typical for a social companyborn in the shadow of Silicon Valley—but Yelp isn’talone. A 2015 study sponsored by Google foundthat 73 percent of North American business leadersbelieve the organization would be more successfulif employees were able to work in more flexible andcollaborative ways. Organizations also are rethink-ing workspaces in an attempt to boost employeeengagement and satisfaction, sparking an increaseddemand for such projects, says Meg Osman, execu-tive director of global corporate and commercialpractice, CannonDesign, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

And there’s much room for improvement. A
2016 global survey by Steelcase indicates that only
25 percent of employees are satisfied with how
their workspace is organized. But it’s not enough
to simply chase the latest fads in office design. To
add real value, workspace makeover projects must
align with an organization’s culture and workflow,
says Ms. Osman.

“People jump on trends and assume that what’s
good for one organization must be good for their
own,” she says. “You have a lot of organizations that
thought beanbag chairs and really casual environments were the way to go. But they’re suffering a
little because it never matched their culture or their
actual work function.”